Pacific Rim Labradoodles
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Meet Maude...
Our professionally trained Autism Service Dog. |
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| My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was almost 3 years old. Since then, we, as a family, have been through many challenges. Children on the spectrum come in many shapes and sizes with many different sets of challenges and gifts. Our son is very strong and athletic with wonderful coordination and balance, however, he is non-verbal. By non-verbal I mean that he does not have regular speech and the words that he does have are not clearly discernible to the untrained ear. He loves to be outside and we have acreage that borders thousands of acres of private and state timberland. I wanted a dog for my son that would be his constant companion, both inside and out. I felt that he needed a large dog to be with him for protection and safety issues as well as companionship. He does not have friends like other children and I saw this as an opportunity for him to have a friend to do things with that could give love unconditionally.
We found Mike Hanna by a wonderful twist of fate and our dreams for a dog for our son started to become reality. I bred a special litter for the size and temperament we wanted and Mike took 3 of the pups to his home to train them specifically for Autism Service Dogs (or for others with similar needs). Maude came to us as the best choice for our son. Her brother, Baxter, is now a brace walking/ support dog for an elderly man and gives him the independence he was missing for years, and her other brother,Theo, is now available for placement into his forever home. (you can see his picture below) Theo is extensively trained and for a list of his commands, you will want to contact Mike. Our situation is always going to be "a work in progress", but how can having a boy with his dog by his side be a bad thing?? :-) |
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